“It’s an absolute disaster,” Landon Donovan boldly remarked, recently voicing his discontent over the state of youth soccer in the United States. In a sport where dominant nations thrive by building strong foundations at the grassroots level, the youth in the U.S. are not improving at the pace they should. Thankfully, with the help of a $30 million boost, Emma Hayes has stepped in with a solution to put to ‘good use for future generations of Americans.’

Perhaps one of the best superheroes that US Soccer could have asked for. After all, she transformed a struggling Chelsea side into one of the most formidable sides in England and Europe. Fortunately for U.S. Soccer, they not only gain from Hayes’ transformative expertise but also from the fact that the 48-year-old already has a plan ready to implement.

“When it comes to being on Zoom calls and developing the 2027, 2028 women’s national team, youth national team strategy, I get to use my brain in a different way and I get to use all that experience and knowledge that I’ve developed over a long period of time to put into good use for future generations of Americans,” said the 48-year-old tactician ahead of facing England at Wembley.

Much of the credit goes to the remarkable $30 million investment that U.S. Soccer recently received from renowned American businesswoman Michele Kang to advance the country’s women’s program. Her contribution did not go unnoticed, as Hayes had earlier expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Kang for her commitment to supporting women’s sports. So, it’s only natural for her to vow she’ll make the perfect use of the donation.

“Couple that with the donation by Michelle Kang means that I can put in place the youth development program that I think we need to in order to close the gap at the youth levels and produce more players for the senior level plus, most importantly, build a strategy that’s centered around the female lens,” she added.

Of course, what Hayes has in mind, coupled with the huge funding, is specifically aimed at the women’s game. But how can the men’s youth break their own barriers, especially considering this problem starts as early as U7s?

Landon Donovan’s shocking story makes us glad Emma Hayes has a plan for the women’s youth program!

In an episode of the State of the Union podcast, Landon Donovan criticized US youth soccer systems as “wasteful.” Host Alexi Lalas asked why he was critical of grassroots programs, and Donovan explained that while he respected America’s drive to win, he felt it wouldn’t resonate with 6-year-olds. He later shared a story about witnessing a youth coach overly focused on winning.

“There’s coaches that I hear say, ‘This coach we’re coaching against next week is my arch nemesis. We have to win this game.’ And he’s coaching seven-year-olds. I’m thinking what the hell is wrong with you,” revealed Donovan.

The Wave boss also explained how many kids are denied opportunities because coaches prioritize tournament victories over the development of individual players. As a result, out of the 10 players, five may not get much playing time because of the focus on winning the tournament at just 7 years old. “It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he added.

Clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done on the youth soccer system of the United States. Perhaps the best advice for the male side is to emulate the roadmap for the women’s side that Emma Hayes is already planning up.